Confronting the reality

"Back off Regan. Leave her."

Regan scoffed on hearing such words from Drake. He tightened his grip over the glass he was holding and said bitterly, "What did you say? Back off? Leave her? I thought you would be the happiest person knowing about my feelings. Let me remind you that you were the one who told me to give it a shot, to follow my heart and now when I did that... you are saying me to leave her? But I think it's too late for me to back off."

Drake went to him in a flash, held his shoulders and said, "I know my words have hurt you Reg..... but I am your friend and I would never do anything that would hurt you.....atleast not intentionally."

"Really?" Regan asked sarcastically.

Drake sighed and rubbed his forehead helplessly, "Reg, how do I make you understand this? Yes, I was the one who said you to give it a chance but at that time, neither me nor you knew that she was already in love with someone. I always wanted you to settle down with a good match who could melt your cold heart and I know, no one can be better than Anna for you. I can see how much she has changed you without doing anything, unknowingly. But that's what scares me Reg. I wish she could love you as much as you love her but I wouldn't be able to to see you as a second choice in her life. You deserve much better Reg."

"You can leave now Drake. I am in no mood to talk about this shit right now. Atleast not today." Regan turned around and said.

"You are in no mood today but tomorrow, you will have to face this bitter truth. What will you do then?"

"Just leave Drake." He yelled.

"I am not going to leave until I finish myself Reg... Listen to me and listen to me for good. She loves someone else. She can never be yours. This is the most bitter truth that will hurt you now, but as soon as you will accept it, you will be able to save yourself from the excruciating pain that it would cause in the future. What do you think? I didn't notice you in the morning... the way you reacted, seeing her with someone else. This is going to happen in the future too. What will you do then? Tell me. Tell me damn it."

Regan gritted his teeth and said, "She can never be mine? Have you forgotten... who am I? I always get what I want and I want her. I will have my way with her, you don't have to worry about that."

"Really? How Regan? Are you gonna force her? Didn't you see the light in her eyes when she talked about her love? She is happy Reg. What do you want to do? You want to snatch away her happiness? Do you think it's so easy to get someone's love? Are you really this selfish? She will hate you if you will do something like that."

Regan's emotions were getting haywired by the constant questions of Drake. He was happy till he reached home. The feeling of being in love overwhelmed him with different emotions which he never felt before. He wanted to share this with someone. When he realized Drake's presence at his place, he was ecstatic to share all of it with him. However, he never expected such a reaction from him. At the back of his mind he knew, whatever he was saying was true but his heart was not ready to accept the fact of Anna being someone else's. But the mere thought of her hating him brought him back to his senses. He was overpowered by his feelings for her, forgetting about her happiness which he knew was not with him but Ashton. He even prayed to God to make her his.

"How could I do that? How can I be so selfish? How can I overlook her feelings, neglect her happiness? How? I... I don't deserve her..... I really don't deserve her." He said in a low voice and fell on his knees. He held his head in frustration and said furiously, "How can I be so selfish Drake? How? Would she really hate me?"

Drake could clearly see what he was going through. He never knew that a day would come when he would witness Regan in such a state. He immediately sat in front of him and said, "Reg.... trust me, she is not going to hate you. But you can't force someone to love you. Let her be happy with the one she loves. It will hurt you for the time being but I am sure you would get through it."

"Had it been in my hand, I would have never fallen in love with her. I tried my best to stay away from her but see what happened. Regan Knight is so helpless today. I thought of myself to be the Mighty who could get anything he wanted. But Anna? I want her Drake and she? Why? Why couldn't I be happy with this new feeling for a while Drake? Why did you ruin my happiness? Why?"

"I am sorry Reg to break your heart like this but you needed to confront the reality..... I know I could have done this later but I don't want you to have false hopes. I am just trying to save you. You can have her as a friend in your life but not more than that."

-------------------------------------------------

Regan spent a sleepless night as his mind was clouded by Anna's thoughts. He couldn't believe that inspite of guarding his heart for so long, how did he relent in front of her. Somewhere between all of these, he dozed off.

The next morning when Drake entered his room, he saw him standing in the balcony basking in the warmth of the sun.

"Seems like someone has spent a sleepless night."

"I don't think a normal person would sleep peacefully after what is all happening around me."

"Reg..."

"I need you to do something Drake. It's about Anastasia. Would you?"

"What is it?"

He sighed and spoke, "The guy she is in love with... his name is Ashton. I want you to get me his complete information. Use your best resources."

"Why do you want to do it Reg? You know it should not be your concern..."

He cut him off in between and said, "It is. Everything related to her is my concern. Throughout the night, I only thought about her. As you said, I can't force her to be mine, later when I pondered over it...I realized something that in all of this, one thing that matters to me the most is her happiness. Her presence makes me feel warm and giddy but when she smiles...a genuine one... it fills my heart with indescribable happiness. So, I have made up my mind, whoever she wants to be with, I want her to get all the happiness of the world...with or without me, even if it breaks my heart."

"Oh Reg!" Drake hugged him immediately.

"I don't intend to interfere in her life but I want to make sure that she is with the right person. I am ready to let go off my feelings for her sake but I want to assure myself about that guy. I don't know why but I can't stop this overprotective instinct towards her. I hope you understand."

"Of course I do and I would get your work done at the earliest. Well... so now that everything is sorted, why don't you come with me to Seattle? It's a weekend and certainly would be a great change for you."

"I can't. Actually, Mr. Watson has invited me for the baby shower party of his elder daughter, Emily. I have to attend it."

"Are you sure you want to go there? Take some time. You can say no to him. Just give an excuse."

"I have to face her either today or tomorrow. I can't hide away from her for my whole life."

"I won't say anything in this. It's your choice Reg. Anyways, what's his name? Have you met him?"

"Not yet."

"Then how did you know about him? I mean did Anna talk about him to you?"

"No... When I was with her.... I... I just heard her mumbling his name in her slumber. His name is Ashton."

"Why do I feel I have heard this name somewhere?"

"Of course you would have. Did you forget? Earlier, you gave me some information about Anna, I am sure you would have heard or read about him somewhere." Regan said and left without glancing back at Drake who still looked flustered.

'Strange it is. I am sure that I have never heard about any Ashton in Anna's life. But still, why do I feel I know him?' He thought.